2018 August

Archive for August, 2018

Gale Force Nine has reached an agreement with the Herbert Estate to publish tabletop games based on the Dune property. This will include a roleplaying game in late 2019, as well as board and miniatures games timed to release just before Legendary Pictures’ Dune movie in 2020. GF9 says it “plans to align with other game companies on numerous categories and formats in the future.” Read: “we are all in on this one.”

Considering how things ended with Last Unicorn Games’ Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium RPG in 2000, this is hopeful news. As the release date for Dune: Chronicles got close, LUG was struggling with debt. The company was bought out by Wizards of the Coast, who released a limited edition of Dune: Chronicles only available at Gen Con and Gen Con UK, never intended to keep it going – after all, that would be a threat to their impending Star Wars d20 RPG. WotC failed to get the Dune license for any other products (some say the Herbert Estate wasn’t really interested in talking with WotC about making a deal; others say the price was too high for WotC), and since then, no publisher of the same caliber has given Dune a go. The only Dune games in the last 18 years have been unofficial, free downloads.

If you want a glimpse of the long out-of-print Last Unicorn Games Dune RPG, head over to OgreCave’s Instagram feed. We’re happy to whet your appetite for the adventures on Arrakis this new license agreement could bring us. We have every confidence GF9 can create a new game that looks at least as great – probably even better. Here’s to hoping.

Early yesterday, Renegade Game Studios unleashed the Kickstarter for Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid, a new cooperative board game based on Saban’s beloved series TV series. In just over 24 hours, the crowdfunding campaign has amassed pledges reaching more than $150,000 – easily funding the project with more than 22 days left. The love for Power Rangers, which first launched in the United States in 1993, obviously remains strong in the gaming community.

Heroes of the Grid will provide 2-5 players a set of ability cards for each Ranger, and miniatures in the appropriate colors. The core game will also include miniature figures and game stats for Bones, Rita Repulsa, Pudgy Pig, Madame Woe, and the ever-present Putty warriors the Power Rangers must guard against. Gameplay will last 45-60 minutes, wherein players will defend sections of Angel Grove against invading villains. The game was designed by Jonathan Ying, who worked on Star Wars: Imperial Assault, Warhammer 40k: Forbidden Stars, and DOOM: the Board Game.

Multiple expansions are built into the KS campaign, including Shattered Grid, which will have additional challengers from the BOOM Studios comic series, including the Ranger Slayer, Black Dragon, and Lord Drakkon himself. Another expansion, White Light, will bring in the White Ranger, increase the maximum players to 6, and call Lord Zedd to the fray. Added figures and component upgrades are planned as stretch goals, which are likely to be unlocked if the campaign maintains momentum.

If you’ve always wanted to be a Power Ranger and face down nasty foes from other dimensions, you owe it to yourself to give Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid a look. The game is expected to release in Spring 2019.

(Why were the evil foot soldiers called “putty” anyway? I never got that. Were they squishy and soft? No, that can’t be right…)